ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Football Team needs to add at least one tight end and there’s certainly argument that they could add two.
There are multiple ways for WFT to add another pass-catcher. Naturally, a proven talent might be worth grabbing over an unproven name. Trades could unfold should GM Martin Mayhew call the Eagles for Zach Ertz, the Browns for David Njoku or the Buccaneers for O.J. Howard.
Should Washington not want to give up the pick, free agency still is looming. Trey Burton and former Washington tight end Richard Rodgers II are available on the market. Rodgers was released by the WFT at the end of training camp last year, but was productive in small batches for the Eagles during the 2019 campaign.
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The reality of is the tight end role seems to line up almost the same way that Washington glaring need at weakside linebacker does: The best (and most affordable) chance to solve the problem long-term is through the draft.
Teams evaluate their needs first and then determine the best approach to attack the problem. Washington went hard after veteran receivers and a veteran quarterback along with a top-notch corner in Curtis Samuel, Ryan Fitzpatrick and William Jackson III, respectively.
For every gift comes a rebuttal. This time around, WFT ignored the need of a cover linebacker. They’ve also failed to compliment Logan Thomas.
Florida’s Kyle Pitts will be long gone by No. 19. (Sources suggest to us he might go at No. 5 to Cincinnati.) Other options for the WFT include Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth, Miami’s Brevin Jordan, Notre Dame’s Tommy Tremble, Ole Miss’ Kenny Yeboah, Virginia’s Tony Poljan or Boston College’s Hunter Long.
A quick snap thought on each:
They don’t call Freiermuth ‘Baby Gronk’ for no reason. He looks the part. He catches everything that we saw on video and locates the ball well.
Jordan: A shifty option in the open field, the former Hurricane seems to have grea athleticism while being able to sell routes. He used a good head nod at times to fool defenders and only got better as his QB situation improved at Miami.
Tremble: He might be the best all-around tight end outside of Pitts. The Notre Dame product can catch the ball in stride from a variety of routes and also seems like a relentless blocker in space with hopes of improving the run.
Yeboah: He transferred to Ole Miss from Temple and does a nice job of slipping out of blocking formations and motions into pass routes. He was very good at ball-tracking passes over his shoulder/head.
Poljan: The 6-foot-7 product from Central Michigan to Virginia and obviously showed off his size with the big wing span. He seems very much like a possessional tight end, but showed some nifty foot work along the boundaries while catching tough passes.
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Long: This is the classic high-volume pass catcher product that teams love at the position. He showed the ability to do it all. He caught passes on the run sprawled out, with one-arm held behind his back. on a leaping comeback and on a swing route using his hand/arm to separate.
These half-dozen potential candidates for Washington all could be grabbed on the first two days when WFT is on the clock. It’s the best (as best we can figure) reason why they have not addressed their tight end need in free agency.